CAPSULE:
Steven Soderbergh directs a script by Scott
Z. Burns, giving us a suspenseful story set in the
world of medicine and high-profile prescription drugs.
When a doctor prescribes a new drug, is he responsible
for the side effects? Jude Law stars as Jonathan a
psychiatrist with a cozy relationship with a drug
company and who prescribes a drug that may not behave
as expected in a surprisingly complex medical thriller.
Rating: high +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

[Spoiler Warning: I think I have avoided spoilers, but the less you
know about the film before seeing it, the better.]

The pharmaceutical industry has come to be dominated by a handful
of giant corporations making large profits. One has only to visit
a doctor's office to see that pens, clipboards, and wall
decorations all seem to carry advertising for high-profile drugs.
And that is just a miniscule fraction of what the drug companies
spend to woo doctors and to get them to prescribe their product.
There is a lot of money to be made in and around big Pharma and
that rarified atmosphere is some of what SIDE EFFECTS is about.

In this world we have Emily Taylor (played by Rooney Mara), a 28-
year-old woman hospitalized after attempting suicide. Dr. Jonathan
Banks (Jude Law) is a psychiatrist assigned by the state to care
for Emily. Emily's depression may be exacerbated by her husband's
release from prison. Martin (Channing Tatum) spent four years
behind bars for insider trading. Now he is out only to find his
wife is imprisoned by her own mental state. Jonathan meets with
Victoria (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Emily's previous psychiatrist to
discuss the case. Victoria suggests a new experimental drug,
Ablixia, and suggests that Jonathan try it on Emily. After another
suicide attempt by Emily Jonathan agrees. But the side effects of
Ablixia may make the cure worse than the disease. What follows is
a complex maze of a story that calls for careful scrutiny from the
viewer to completely appreciate what is happening. Director Steven
Soderbergh directs this labyrinth created by Scott Z. Burns who
also wrote Soderbergh's excellent CONTAGION.

At one point Jonathan's wife asks him about a patient who is
accused of committing a crime while on a behavior-altering drug.
Did that person do it? Is that person guilty? Jonathan responds
that those are two very different questions. That is one of the
major issues of the film. Drugs change who we are. If a person
has his personality temporarily altered under the influence of a
drug, is that person still guilty? Can one punish someone who
existed for just a few hours and now is no more?

Rooney Mara is not yet a familiar name to most viewers, but she
plays or will play the complex and physically strenuous role of
Lisbeth Salinger in the US version of the "Girl with the Dragon
Tattoo" films. Here she more than holds her own against box-office
stars Jude Law and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Soderbergh directs from a
script by Scott Z. Burns. Soderbergh has said that following this
film and one other made for HBO he will be taking a "sabbatical"
form film making and will be exploring his talent as a painter.

It has been suggested that this is the sort of film that Alfred
Hitchcock might be making if he or someone of his talents were
around today. Actually it might be closer to one of Brian De
Palma's efforts. At the end of my review I have to say ironically
that this is a film to be seen rather than one to be read about.
There are more holes in the plot than a Hitchcock would leave, but
SIDE EFFECTS seems to have a sort of De Palma flamboyance. I rate
it a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 7/10. I could raise that
rating on future viewings since there is a lot to take in here.